Sarmaya-e-Pakistan, holding company for state owned enterprises, incorporated

ISLAMABAD: Sarmaya-e-Pakistan, the holding company for state owned enterprises, has been incorporated, says Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar.
In a tweet, he said turning around the state owned enterprises and eliminating their losses is vital for economic turnaround of Pakistan.
The Minister added that losses are eating up resources which should be used for development and welfare.
In November last year, PTI government decided to set up a new company named Sarmaya-e-Pakistan Limited with a capital of Rs500 billion in a bid to take over management control and have better oversight of all public sector companies, which will likely lead to a turnaround in loss-making firms.
The new company will be incorporated with 100% federal government shareholding. Government shares in the existing public sector companies will be gradually transferred to the new firm.
The performance of the public sector companies has deteriorated over the past many years because of a host of factors, particularly the lack of relevant skills and expertise in the administrative ministries and divisions for guiding and helping these firms perform in a professional and competitive way.
Moreover, the uniform application of instructions issued from time to time by the Finance Division and relevant ministries has further complicated operations of the public sector companies in a competitive market economy.
In order to revive these enterprises, the present government decided to frame an appropriate governance structure keeping in view the international best practices followed in Singapore and Malaysia.
Statutory corporations and commercial concerns such as the National Highway Authority (NHA) will be incorporated as public limited companies and subsequently will be given under the control of the new company.